---Chapter XVII 1/2: Disappearance (Part 1)---

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"Holy Roman Empire..."

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///Third Person PoV///

"Oh..." Italy managed to say under his breath. 'Is it really him? What should I do? How should I act?' Those were the thoughts of the Northern Italian.

Taking a step closer, the man cloaked in black spoke, "Long time no see, Italy."

"Y-Yeah. Um, I...I mean, I..." Italy started rambling nervously, pitching his voice in a higher, more childish tone.

Sighing, the blonde man looked at the Italian. "Italy."

"What?" the brunette asked, fidgeting a little.

The man in the black uniform smiled at him warmly. "You don't have to talk to me as if we were still children. I know everything."

After a long pause, Italy's eyes glimmered. "...Okay. Long time no see...Holy Roman Empire." Italy said in his normal voice. Though, the way he said it was as if he was out of breath. How could he not be breathless, anyway? Right there in front of him, was that man.

He was more than breathless.

Holy Roman Empire nodded, smiling at the fact that he was recognised. "Yes."

"You're...all grown up." Italy pointed out, still unsure of what to say and what to do. It had been such a long time.

He had waited for such a long time.

Gazing straight into his eyes, Holy Roman Empire responded with a strange glint in his eyes. "Because you wished so."

"What?"

"This is a place where wishes are fulfilled. There was no way I could win against that guy when I was little. That's why I asked you for that favor, Italy." Holy Roman Empire explained, gesturing at their surroundings.

Tilting his head, Italy spoke, "...Was it you who showed me the way just now?"

Holy Roman Empire nodded. "Yes. I was able to repel it somewhat, but not completely...I'm sorry." he told him, giving an apologetic expression.

Waving his hands in front of him, Italy tried to lighten up the conversation. "N-no! It's okay! Um..." HRE couldn't help but give a questioning look.

"Th-This is kinda awkward for me. You being a grown-up, I mean." Italy confessed in a soft voice.

"I can imagine. If you don't like it, you can wish for me to be little again. You would probably feel more at ease with my younger self." HRE suggested.

Italy shook his head and looked away. "Ve?! Uh, n-no! I mean, this is definitely awkward, but... How can I put this...?" he paused for a moment and tried to look for the right words to explain how he felt. Slowly, he looked at Holy Roman Empire once more. Seeing the caring look in his eyes made him realise what he was feeling. "I'm glad that I can look at you in the eyes without having to look down."

HRE placed a hand over his mouth and chuckled lightly. "I see. That's good."

"So, where are we?" Italy asked.

"Hm? Oh...right. Sorry, but we're keeping them waiting. Let's go back first." HRE replied, pointing behind him.

Italy started to look ahead. "Who are you talking about?"

"You will know if you come with me. Let's go." HRE said as he began to lead the way.

"Oh, o-okay." Italy nodded, following after him.

-=-=-=-=-

As the two walked, they were able to see two more familiar figures ahead of them.

"--ight. Then we'll just take a quick look inside and..." Italy heard a slim, Japanese man in a white uniform say to a silver haired man, as he and HRE stepped closer to them.

Italy's eyes opened wide. "Japan?! And Prussia?!" he exclaimed, confused.

"Hey, Italy. I'd been wondering if something had happened, since you just went off into the forest all of a sudden." Prussia greeted them.

Furrowing his brows, Italy responded. "What?"

"Was something bothering you?" Japan asked, noticing the Italian's troubled face.

Before Italy could reply, HRE stepped forward and spoke, "Sorry to have kept you waiting. Italy just thought he had seen something."

"Well, if you were there with him, I guess it's okay. Kesesese!" Prussia chuckled, wanting to nudge the other with his elbows.

Directing his attention back at the mansion, Japan spoke, "Anyway...I thought it was just a rumor. I never thought that we would actually find it."

Prussia nodded in approval. "It has such a desolate feel...Not bad!"

Italy couldn't help but feel a lump form in his throat. Hearing their conversation was all-too familiar...and all too painful at the same time. Their words even made his stomach churn, feeling saturated by the countless times he had heard them say it. There was this uneasiness. This feeling. Two words could express what he felt.

Not again.

"I don't think that it's very interesting. Let's just take a quick look and go back already." Holy Roman Empire told them.

"Oh..." the Northern Italian mouthed. This is odd. This very situation was something he had gone through so many times...but something felt different. Something felt...off.

What was missing?

Opening the front door, Japan looked at his companions. "Indeed. Shall we go in, then?" Prussia agreed, entering the mansion just behind Japan.

Starting to panic, Italy tried to call after the two. "Wait--" He was stopped by HRE, who placed a hand over his shoulder and shook his head.

"Italy, there is no need to hurry." HRE reassured him calmly.

Giving a look of disbelief, Italy spoke, "What? B-but..."

"This is as if you were in a dream. Except for one thing, everything will go as you like. That's why you don't have to worry about them." HRE explained. He knew why Italy was acting like that, but he didn't want him to feel scared.

Turning around and facing HRE, Italy sighed. "...But I can't not worry. I have to go after them."

"Even if it's a dream?" HRE asked, raising an eyebrow.

With much resolve in Italy's hazel eyes, he exclaimed. "Because it's a dream!"

"...I thought you would say that." Holy Roman Empire smiled knowingly. Italy had grown up so much, too, he realised.

Chuckling, he scratched his cheek playfully. "Heheh! Well, now, let's go in! Then you can tell me all about the 'rules' in this world."

"All right." HRE agreed, allowing Italy to step inside the mansion before he did.

Holy Roman Empire watched with a sad expression as Italy walked ahead."As I thought, he adapts easily...Did what he's gone through make him that way? Please figure it out soon..."

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

///Reader's PoV///

Flowerbeds. Butterflies. Fresh air. Light.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I went from being enveloped by darkness...to being surrounded by this...tranquil setting.

What is this?

Adjusting my eyes to the brightness of my surroundings, I realised that I was not in the mansion. Rather, I was somewhere...outside.

"I thought...she sent me back to the mansion..." I said aloud, standing up and dusting my clothes. "Or did she? What was it that she told me, again? Go back..in...where--"

My thoughts were disrupted when a faint voice caught my ear. It was a small and familiar voice. Someone was, singing? Who? Where?

"No one wishes for boring days to come around,
but everyone has times like that, right?
We're not just tiny alley cats who slip out of a narrow alley, after all,
so let's stretch out and stand on our tiptoes even more
look, you can see just about anything, right?"

As I was listening to the song...that somehow felt nostalgic in a way, I searched for the person who was singing it by following the voice. I moved away from the flowerbeds and went into the forest. The trees were really tall, and everything in the forest seemed to be harmonious with one another. It gave a surreal feeling, in my opinion. What made it more peculiar, was that in the middle of the forest, there was a space that had a large tree in the centre. Walking closer, I saw that the person singing was sitting under the shade of tree on the opposite side, causing the tree trunk to block my view. As quietly as I can, I walked towards the tree. The person continued to sing.

"Put on a smile! Laugh out loud!
Sing a song! Let it ring out!
You can completely forget about all those worries, as well.
With a 1, 2, 3, if you sing this 'Happy Song' together
with everyone, you'll surely be filled with cheer."

Once I was practically steps away from the person who was singing, my eyes grew wide.

Oh.

With a curious look on my face, I continued listening to her.

That little girl wearing a frilly red dress.

I tried to be as discreet as I can while I reached out to tap her shoulder, so as not to surprise her or scare her...but it was she who gave me a shock.

As I was about to tap her shoulder, she turned around to face me with a knowing smile and finished her song, "Since it's a magical song, you know?~"

"W-Woah!" I exclaimed in surprise, slightly backing away from the shock. "Y-You knew I was here?"

"Yeah, as soon as you got here, I knew." the little girl admitted.

Creasing my forehead, I spoke slowly, "How...do you even know about that...(Name)..?" It is still strange to call her by my own name.

Shrugging and giving a slightly sad expression, the little girl replied, "...Well, you already know that I'm not what I appear to be, right, (Second Name)?"

"Definitely. I'm still kinda freaked out about this, sorry." I apologised. "But, wait...how come you were acting differently when we first met?"

The little girl sighed. "Ah, well...for one, ya didn't exactly know who you even were."

"Eheheh...y-yeah..I forgot about that." I scratched the back of my head. It was that time my memory somehow got taken away for some reason. That's why I didn't get weirded out by seeing my younger self before.

With a half-smile, the little girl looked at me. "And another reason why I acted like that, was because I was wished to be so."

"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow, confused once more.

"Like I told you before, I'm like a wish." she told me, standing up and dusting her dress.

Standing up, as well, I tilted my head. "I still don't understand that, either..."

"You will understand everything in Time." she murmured.

Leaning closer to hear her better, I spoke, "What did you say?"

"Well, you see--" she paused suddenly when we heard some large footsteps approaching us.

Her eyes widened and she clicked her tongue. "Tsk.. that guy wasn't able to finish it off, huh? It's not like I can do it either..." she spoke aloud. Then, she turned to me and took hold of my hand in her small (s/c) ones. "We need to get out of this forest now."

"Wh-What?" I asked as the two of us began running through the forest, following a certain path that little me seemed to know quite well.

And in a strange sense, it was as if I knew the path, too.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

When we got out of the forest, I noticed that I was back where I started off this place. I was back at those flowerbeds. There was something familiar about it, but I just can't figure out what it was at the moment. Also, from all that running, I expected to be really tired and all that, but I wasn't.

"Hey, how come I'm not exhausted at all from running?" I asked.

The little girl smiled at me. "Well, think of this as if it were a dream. You wouldn't feel tired if it was so."

"Eh?...If this was a dream, then we wouldn't be in real danger, then? But how come we had to run away from--what was it, a monster...?" I gave a questioning look. It didn't add up to me.

She shook her head. "Dreams can kill."

"You mean like..a bad dream? Like how some people wouldn't wake up anymore because of a really horrifying nightmare?" I said, trying to make sense of things.

Looking down, little me replied, "It doesn't necessarily mean about real death. Sometimes, there are dreams that can make people feel hurt and misery so much, that their sadness continues even as they wake up and deal with their everyday lives. Living with that kind of feeling in their heart every single day...would make physical death look like the better option."

"Right...bad dreams can really do that, huh?" I commented, feeling depressed by what I've heard. It's true, though. I awkwardly stared down at my feet.

Taking a step forward, my younger self spoke, "Who said it had to be a bad dream?"

"Huh? Well, nightmares are the ones that bring people sadness and depressing thoughts, right?" I responded, turning to her. What else would it be?

"That's where you're wrong."

"What?"

Bending down to pick some flowers, the little girl spoke, "A nightmare isn't just a dream that's horrifying or depressing--or hurtful...

...Sometimes...it's the dreams about the time when you were truly happy...or the dreams about your beautiful and cherished memories...

Those are the ones that could break a person's heart the most."

"...But why..? Aren't happy memories...good dreams?" I asked, still unable to comprehend what she said.

Little me nodded. "Normally, yeah, they are...but.." she took in a deep breath. "But think about it... if someone had a dream about a time when they were happy...and woke up to a reality that's very different from that dream....it'll be like they woke up to the realnightmare.

If that person saw that something or someone they had dreamt about, they might start to think...that reality, their reality, might disappear in a flash...just like how their dream did." she gestured me to come closer, so I knelt down to level her. Surprisingly, she placed a flower crown on top of my head. "...It's a scary thought, isn't it?" she asked me, a tinge of sadness in her tone.

My (e/c) eyes widened at her words. I simply nodded, still at awe.

"W-Wait..by the way...will you be explaining it all for me now? The mansion, yourself, those countries... will you tell me why we all got trapped in the mansion in the first place?" I asked her. I needed answers. I wanted to understand once and for all what started all of this or what caused this other than the reasons that the 2Ps had because of what the 1Ps had done to them. I felt like there was something else.

She giggled. "Seriously? I just did!"

"HUH? The thing about the dream?? It had sense in the concept of it, but how does that even apply to all this?!" I exclaimed, exasperated.

"Oh, I promise, you will understand all this in Time." she told me as she went back to making flower crowns while humming a tune. It was the same tune of the song that she sang earlier, strangely enough... I began humming it with her.

Unconsciously, I slowly spoke in a soft voice, "...Happy Song."

"You...remember..?" little me asked, sounding a bit excited.

I quickly covered my mouth and gave a very puzzled expression. "I--I don't know...I just...I just blurted it out without thinking..."

"Oh, I see..." she said, suddenly looking down. "It's the title of the song, you know. An important person taught me that. Whenever I feel down, I cheer myself up with that song. That person told me that it works like magic. Haha."

"R-Really? Who's that person, exactly?"

"........I-I don't need to tell you something you already know." she replied in a low voice.

"I..do..?" I said, quite surprised. "Hey...why is it that you can't tell me the answers that I need and the solutions to the mysteries that need to be solved in the mansion..?" I asked. It's the question that I had wanted to ask for such a long time now. She had been avoiding my questions and giving me answers that's hidden behind the lines. There was something up.

"The answers," she smiled and pointed at me, "already lie within you, (Second Name)."

I crossed my arms and pouted. "Oh, don't give me that. You know that I won't get what those answers are..." I sighed. "....You...You aren't allowed to tell me, huh? That must be it..."

"....Yeah. Sorry."

"I see...Well, it's not like I can force you to tell me something you have no power over..." I told her. In this strange world, you can never know who's in control or what's at play anymore. I don't want to put...little me in harm's way like that.

Nodding, she spoke, "Thanks...and as for the solutions to those mysteries..." I tilted my head and urged her to go on.

"That's something that you and your friends will have to do..."

I breathed in deeply and smiled. "..together." I said.

She turned away from me. "Right. You wouldn't want it any other way, would you?" she said knowingly.

Chuckling, I replied, "You know it."

"Well! Give them an earful of it, okay?" she told me.

"I would, but how?" I asked. I was out in some garden, after all, how would I be able to...

Turning around to face me, she stepped forward and took hold of my hands. "You just need to wake up, (Second Name)."

"What...?" I whispered. Figuring how she said that this was a dream, do I just have to close my eyes and think of waking up? Well, it's worth giving it a shot.

I closed my eyes and thought of the place where I wanted to be.

Where those idiots were, of course.

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///Luciano's PoV///

"You mean to say...there's a little sunflower hiding around this mansion, too?" Russia asked.

"Ah, well...for now, there's a great chance that there is." Canada replied.

We were in the First Players' saferoom, discussing about some matters while the others were down at the annexe. Which, strangely enough, has taken up a lot of time already. Surely by now, those idioti would have finished there business there.

Unless they were dead.

Though, as much as my nature would love the idea, I'd have to hold on that it wasn't the case. For the moment, we need to figure out what's really going on in this wretched mansion.

The Canadian First Player looked down. "Do you think we'll get some answers from the girl if we find her?"

"Well, we might. You'll never know, the brat might know more than we do." Matthieu responded to his counterpart.

Gilen waved his hand. "But, what if it was just a normal kleines Mädchen?"

"Do you honestly think that a kid running around this mansion could be normal, aru?" China told him.

Allen stood up and stretched. "So, all we hafta do is to find the girl, and get 'em answers from her?"

"Yes, but we're going to get her in the nicest way possible. I will not allow you to hurt a little poppet, young man." Oliver warned the redheaded American.

Rolling his eyes, Allen responded, "I know, I know. And besides, her name is (Name), too, yeah? Wait...does she look like her, too?"

"We're still unsure of that. For now, we should look for her? I mean, is that all right with you guys?" The Canadian First Player asked shyly.

Lutz nodded, "Ja. It's better than just standing by here doing nothing."

"Big Brother needs to get in action, too~" France smiled.

I thought about the idea for a moment. If it's true that there's a little ragazza in this mansion, there's a good chance that she'll know how to get us out of here...or at least explain to us why we're stuck here. Letting out a deep breath, I looked at them and spoke, "Si. Let's go, then."

"Ah, Russia and I will stay back here first." China told us. "That way, we'll be able to inform the others when they come back from the annexe."

Francois glared at the two for a moment, then sighed. "Bien sûr. Si tel est votre plan , pourquoi pas? Reste ici." he said, earning curious looks from the French and Canadian First Players, as well as Matthieu.

"What the old man said was, 'why the hell not? Stay here, then.' ...something like that." Matthieu told China and Russia.

After that, everyone who was about to head out formed groups. Once we've settled on who's searching with who, we opened the saferoom door and proceeded walking out of the room, my group with Lutz and Kuro being last to leave.

When we were out in the hallway, the other groups were already headed downstairs, others climbed up the stairs. Since we were already here on this floor, we might as well look through the rooms again. I instructed Lutz and Kuro to search the rooms on the upper corridor rooms, while I inspect the lower corridor's.

"Very well, then. It won't take that long to search through the rooms." Kuro said as he and Lutz entered separate rooms to cover more ground.

-=-=-=-

Venturing towards the lower corridor, I sighed. I felt like were in some sort of stalemate situation at the moment. I entered one of the rooms in the lower left of the hall. There was nothing much, just a normal room. I opened the closet, no little girl to be found. What were we thinking? Would it really be that easy to find a little girl whose existence is still unsure of? Tsk.

Aimlessly, I decided to look through the bookshelf of the room. Most of the books were about mechanics, others were about medicine. How boring. One of the books, though, I've noticed, had no label.

"Hm? This is new. Though I doubt it means anything." I muttered to myself as I disinterestedly flipped the book open. It was blank, apparently. What a waste of time. I was about to close the book and put it back on the shelf...when something slipped out from the pages and dropped down the carpet.

Oh?

A small piece of paper? I knelt down and picked it up. Turning it around, I saw something surprising. "Oh. A photograph."

But it wasn't just some old photograph.

"....This is...."

Why is it here? Does that mean...? Standing up, I dusted my clothes. Placing the photograph in my pocket, I decided to regroup with Lutz and Kuro to discuss what I've found.

Leaving the room, I closed the door behind me. The two should be in the upper hallway. As I was about to step forward...from the corner of my eye, I saw someone leaning on the wall beside me, arms crossed.

This isn't real.

Feeling my breath hitch, I hesitantly turned to my left...and realised that I was facing a (h/c) haired girl with (e/c) eyes, with that all too familiar smile.

My mind was definitely messing with me right now, but I felt compelled to say what I wanted to say. "........(Second Name)...?"

Chuckling, the ragazza smiled at me warmly and gave a slightly awkward wave as she spoke,

"Ciao, Luci."